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The desert called so we pulled out the long boats and headed down the Baja way, first loading enough boats to take full advantage of both coasts, then cramming the truck full of every camping comfort it would take, right down to a hand-cranked margarita blender.

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Sean Morley knows a few things about going fast. He honed his forward stroke technique as a flatwater sprint racer on the British junior national team, but has made his biggest mark traveling far and fast in challenging conditions. He’s held speed records for crossing the Irish Sea, circumnavigating Vancouver Island, and paddling 4,500 miles around Great Britain and Ireland, solo.

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The Jondachi is special. Ask any Tena paddler what their favorite run is, where they cut their teeth, where they go with their friends, where they suggest recently arrived foreign kayakers go: the Upper Jondachi. Kayaking is young in Ecuador. Truly, it’s in its infancy. To lose the Jondachi to a dam would be to lose a great teacher.

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“Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks offer some of the best paddling opportunities in the world for all abilities -- to live so near to these amazing rivers and yet be unable to experience them is a constant frustration for me and many other residents and visitors.”

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A month into their ambitious nine-month, 5,200-mile route, the six-man Rediscover North America crew highlights the first 27 days paddling up the Atchafalaya River, and crossing over to begin the long slog up the mighty Mississippi.

Winter Kayaking: Pennsylvania Creeking

Pennsylvania Creeking

“Pennsylvania creeking in the winter is a beast of its own nature,” says local photographer Regina Nicolardi. “Our winters get pretty bitter and stormy.” But that’s the time of year when Black Creek, and a handful of other Class IV-V tributaries to the Lehigh River, tend to run.

If you go, make sure your adrenaline glands aren’t frozen for Upper Black Creek: It’s a continuous and technical Class IV-V boulder garden, with a takeout conveniently located behind the police station in Weatherly, Pa., on the western edge of the Poconos. The creek’s lower section is milder, with five miles of Class III followed by a seven-mile run on the Lehigh. Still, it’s winter boating, PA-style.“Ice chunks, shelves and choked slots are always a concern and the days are short,” Nicolardi says. “Light is typically gone from the gorge by 3:30.” — EB